Who lives in a house like this?!

After cleaning my pet out last night I realised I had put a little too much paper in for her! The only time ive seen her today is when ive come with ginger nut biscuits!

Can you guess what it is? Her name is Monkey as she likes to climb.

She's a rat! She is absolutely lovely. She has a real personality and incredibly fond of food!

And this is her trying to get her ginger nut!

On the subject of monkeys would you take a min to fill out a quick survey created with Survey Monkey. You will automatically be entered into a draw to win a black agate pendant

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SRRLJ6X

New Tied Silk & Silver Necklaces

I Have not blogged in a long while! I have had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life that prevented me from doing so. I will be back weekly to show new Gemstones I'm using, new techniques and so on.

Here is a necklace that I made using these wonderful hand dyed silks. I used a two tone pink theme to go along with the hand stamped breast cancer charm I created. I abbsolutely LOVE the way these necklaces drape! I added Pink Tourmanline, Rose Quartz & Ruby Spinel in Pink shades on my handcrafted Sterling headpins that are tied in between the knots. The Sterling heart chain intertwined adds some really nice texture. I finished off with my handstamped Breast Cancer Charm, a Rose Quartz briolette and a tiny pink Ruby to hang from the center. I am looking forward to making these feminine (breezy summer dress or tank top and jean shorts, works either way) silk necklaces in many colors with different styles such as single strand, just silk and other center gemstone pieces. You can purchase this necklace on my eBay store for $47.00. As always, any suggestions or ideas you may have, please drop me a note! ~ Darlene

Art and Fashion Show

FREE Event - Art and Fashion Inspired by the Rainforest

Where:
Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria, VA

When:
Friday, May 21, 7:30pm

As part of the Friends of the Torpedo Factory 's Performance Art & Lecture Series, visitors are invited to view a fashion show and exhibit featuring wearable art and jewelry by twenty-one artists from the Torpedo Factory as well as Malaysian Batik Designer Sharifah Maheran Barakbah of Barakaff.

Participating Artists from the Torpedo Factory: Mirella Belshe, Cindy Brandt, Ruth Buhrman, Ann Citron, Ann DiPlacido, Candace Edgerly, Tamara Embry, Min Enghauser, Annemarie Feld, Jolande Goldberg, Zoya Gutina, Marcia Jestaedt, Anne Landry, Virginia Irby-Maxwell, Jamaliah Morais, Lane Palmisano, Gladys Seaward, Connie Slack, Alexia Scott, Tracie Griffith-Tso, and Liang Wei.

Read more...

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I haven't been to my house in Arkansas this May; instead, I've stayed in the city with my baby grand-daughter. I have missed the flowers of Arkansas although I really prefer the city. My yard in Arkansas, both front and back, is filled with my favorite peonies, a pale pink with a gorgeous smell. The flowering privet has a fragrance that I can lingers all over the property and the privet itself hums with the activity of harmless bees. A climbing rose covers two stories of the entire back of our garage - white roses with a pale pink tinge to them. Hydrangeas are in the front, the blue ones with their little clusters of petals and huge snowball like blooms. May truly blooms in Arkansas, and the "April showers bring May flowers" is an apt saying there.
Here my "flowers" are beads that I put together in jewelry. They do lack scent, but they make up for that by never fading and keeping their colour and shape forever. When I combine the beads and components into a piece of jewelry, it's as though I have a vase of fresh flowers that will last forever!
I'm working a lot with coral as the days get much, much longer. Above and below are two coral necklaces, one with dark coral "fingers" alternated with freshwater pearls and borosilicate lampwork beads and one with red coral and gold. Below that is a blue coral bracelet mixed with sterling silver sea charms and beads and Thai Karen Hill Tribes chain.



Above, a touch of coral enlivens a turquoise and coral bracelet with sterling silver and artist's lampwork. Turquoise and coral are a favorite combination of mine and warrants its own special page on the Cluny Grey website.
Other than coral, I've been working on briolette earrings, below are candy jade, but I have many more pairs on the briolette earrings page. I've recently found some interesting agate and you'll be seeing much more than just the 3 agate bracelets with crazy lace agate featured below.



It is also the season of graduations, proms, and weddings, hence the crystal jewelry below. The Swarovski crystal jewelry below can be found on our Swarovski Bridal Jewelry page. An especial favorite of mine are the large briolette earrings in Swarovski crystal below the Swarovski starfish.




Enjoy the longer May days! Don't forget that shipping is FREE!

Todays Makes from Old Bead Stash

yI have decided that before I purchase any new beads I am going to clear out the ones I already have.
I bought loads in the past and when I received them had no idea what I would make with them but they are ALL going to be used now.

These are todays makes so far. I made two memory wire bracelets which I really dont enjoy making but thats the last of the wire now YAY!

I also made a necklace from Strawberry Quartz, Pearls and Peridot with a rose shaped Shell pendant.

What do you think?

I'm going to use the money Ive saved on buying beads to go towards some new flyers to promote my jewellery parties.

The Emerald Days of May

I love May, the month of my birthday, for its flowers, green leafy beginnings shooting from the ground, and for the life that suddenly moves from inside stuffy houses to the fresh and fragrant outdoors. I always think of it as the month of emeralds, and the emerald is truly an appropriate birthstone for May. I love working with emeralds and I especially like to combine them with other gemstones. Today, however, most of the jewelry pieces that you see here have emeralds mixed only with sterling silver and lampwork beads. The emerald bracelet above is an example since it features only emeralds and sterling silver in two strands. Little charms hang around the bracelet and give it the life that this May birthstone deserves while opaque and transparent emeralds in different shapes and sizes mingle with one another.
One of the things I love about making jewelry is that I can make it affordable. At one time, few people could ever afford an emerald bracelet or necklace or even earrings. But using emeralds of different quality that have been made into beads, I can make a piece of emerald jewelry that you can wear forever - and it is the real thing!
Above, is an emerald bracelet with one lampwork bead that gives it a lively touch, while the emerald bracelet below features three of our nicest lampwork beads as the focal for the bracelet.
And the last emerald bracelet is extremely simple: a sterling silver bangle with four light-coloured fluted emeralds set in sterling scallops.

The earrings that you see here are also genuine emeralds, again mixed with sterling silver. I love the dainty chandelier earrings with three little faceted emerald rondelles dangling from each earring.
Finally, a cultured freshwater pearl emerald necklace with genuine emeralds. Keishe pearls are my new favorite pearl; their iridescence is generally particularly strong and their uneven shapes make them shine all the more.
Don't forget Mother's Day this Sunday! We are offering FREE PRIORITY SHIPPING on anything you buy!




emerald necklace

What a day!

I had my first craft fair of the year today. I got up bright and early drove to the venue with an hours set up time but couldnt find the building anywhere!

In the end I got some help from a lovely parking warden! I know! He walked with me to the gallery which I would never of seen on my own.

There was no parking which proved a real pain too.

The event turned out to be a complete washout there were so many jewellery stalls and virtually no passing trade.

As it was so quiet it did give me time to get making and I did this. Its made from handmade lampwork glass beads in clear and crystal cubes (excuse the pic)

I also met a lovely man called Dave. He and his wife make jewellery made from real flowers. They are truly stunning. I have seen them at events before but never had the chance to talk before today.

These are some of their items.

Take a look at some of their items on: http://www.etsy.com/MyHeartsMyFlowers